Blanching or blanching involves two main steps: bringing your food to a boil briefly, then immersing it in ice water immediately. When blanching your string beans properly, you can achieve a crispier texture, lighter color, and delicious taste. Here are some tips for blanching long beans.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Blanching Your Long Beans
Step 1. Prepare your long beans
Wash your string beans with water, and remove each end of the string beans.
- Remove only a quarter inch (approximately 1 cm) of the ends. Try to leave the beans as whole as possible.
- Removing the tip too much causes the inside of the long bean to be exposed. This can cause loss of flavor and crunch when cooking the beans in water.
Step 2. Salt a large pot of water
Salting is important to season the beans, as well as to maintain their natural taste.
- While you don't need to add salt to your water, doing so will help prevent the nutrients and flavor from draining out of the beans. The brine (brine) has a higher density than the water in the long beans. This helps most of the flavor stay hidden in your chickpeas instead of escaping into the boiling water.
- Salt your water freely. A general rule of thumb is that blanching water should be "ten times saltier than the sea." If you have trouble assessing taste, simply add a few tablespoons of kosher salt for every quart of water in your pan.
- Salting your beans moderately helps maintain a very nice bright green color, if you intend to serve a colorful dish. Make sure the long beans are seasoned evenly.
- Don't worry your string beans are too salty. These beans will only be in the boiling water for a short time and won't absorb as much salt as you might think.
Step 3. Put your pot on the stove to cook
Make sure the volume of water is twice the amount of beans you want to blanch.
- While you may want to blanch a small amount of chickpeas, using a large saucepan is ideal, as it minimizes simmering time. The goal of blanching is to cook the chickpeas as quickly as possible to avoid losing the crispness and fading of color.
- Let your water really boil evenly. Watch for bubbles in your pan. The little bubbles that form on the edge of the pot are just air bubbles and they don't mean your water has boiled. When large bubbles continue to flow from the bottom of the pot, your water has come to a boil.
Step 4. Prepare the ice water bath
An iced water bath is essential for the second step of blanching, which will "surprise" your beans in cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Fill a large bowl with cold or room temperature water. Take a few pieces of ice cubes from the freezer, and place them evenly in the water.
- Avoid preparing an iced water bath early in your cooking process. The purpose of surprising your beans is to stop the cooking process that is still going on inside the beans. Leaving your ice-water bath at room temperature can decrease the effectiveness by surprising your string beans.
- Do not prepare an ice water bath after the cooking process. A surprising process needs to happen immediately after the long beans are cooked, so that the beans will not be overcooked because of the moisture itself. Also avoid preparing an iced water bath when your long beans are boiling. Since boiling time is a fast process, you can easily lose track of the time and cause your chickpeas to overcook.
Step 5. Place your chickpeas in boiling water for a minute
Let it sit there for about 2 minutes.
- Your long beans should not be too crowded. Laying them evenly will ensure even cooking and seasoning.
- Taste a stick of string beans about a minute after cooking. The taste should be crunchy, but ripe.
- If your string beans are soft, you are overcooking them.
Step 6. Remove the long beans from the pan
Use tongs or a scoop to carefully scoop the beans out of the boiling water.
Don't feel rushed. Although the blanching process requires speed, it also requires caution. You don't have to scoop out all your chickpeas in one go
Step 7. Place your string beans in an ice water bath immediately
When you scoop the beans out of the water, dip them evenly into a bowl of ice water.
- Avoid letting your string beans outside before shocking them into the water. The longer your beans are left outside, the longer they will continue to ripen.
- Leave your string beans in the ice water until they cool completely. Moving them before the beans have completely cooled causes the internal ripening process to continue, resulting in a mushy finish.
- Also avoid letting the long beans in the ice water bath for too long. If you can no longer feel the warmth on your fingertips, it means the beans have cooled. Leaving the beans in the water too long runs the risk of making them heavy and wet.
Step 8. Wrap the long beans with tissue paper
Let the string beans dry completely before eating them, or mixing them with other foods.
- Pat your string beans while they are still in the tissue paper. This will help speed up the drying process.
- Skipping the drying process runs the risk of making the beans wet and thwarting the purpose of the blanching process, which is to get a crunchy texture.
Method 2 of 2: Other Blanching Techniques
Step 1. Blanch your chickpeas in the microwave
Replace pots and stoves with a casserole dish and microwave.
- The steps are generally the same as the blanching process on the stove with a few minor changes. Instead of leaving your beans long whole, cut them into small pieces. Salt the beans directly, not the water.
- Fill the casserole grill with 3 liters of water. Place two cups of chickpeas in the grill and cover. Place the casserole grill in the microwave for 5-6 minutes, stopping the stirring at least twice during the cooking process. Surprise and dry the beans as you normally would after cooking them.
- This is a technique that works best for small amounts of string beans and if you don't have a pot or stove. Be aware that the microwave process may not be as effective as boiling, when you're trying to get crispier, greener beans.
Step 2. Use steam to blanch your string beans
Replace pot and water with basket and steam.
- Use a pot with a tight-fitting lid and a steaming basket or strainer that can hold the food at least 3 inches (7.5 cm) above the pan. Fill 2 or 3 inches (5–7.5 cm) of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Place your string beans in a basket or colander, so the steam reaches all the way through quickly. Cover the pot with a lid and let it simmer on high for 3-4 minutes. Surprise and dry the beans as you normally would.
- Steam blanching, although a good alternative to water blanching, is not efficient. Steam blanching takes about 11/2 times longer to blanch string beans than water blanching.
- Using steam blanching is especially recommended for certain vegetables, such as broccoli, or sweet potatoes. While you can blanch all vegetables in steam, blanching string beans in water is quicker and more effective.
Step 3. Saute your chickpeas in a skillet after blanching
While sautéing isn't a substitute for water blanching, it does add a great flavor to your already crunchy chickpeas.
- After draining your string beans, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and butter and sauté the mixture for 30 seconds. No need for exact measurements, just add enough oil and butter to coat your chickpeas. Add the chickpeas and continue to sauté until they're coated in butter, and heat up. Remove the string beans from the pan and add the lemon juice, salt, and paprika.
- For a more delicious taste, mix the red pepper powder and onion into your butter before sautéing your string beans.
Tips
- Summer is long bean season. This season is the perfect time for you to find the most delicious long beans.
- Support local farmers - get your beans from a store or farmer's cooperative that sells local produce. Local produce is better for the environment, your community and your body!
